Health & Wellbeing

Looking after yourself

Finding the time to look after yourself along with planning ahead to ensure you are eating healthy can be a bit of a juggling act yet but totally worth it in the long term. Think of all the money you will save with meals prepped for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Let’s chat about Mind, Body and Soul and ensure you are giving your body the best chance to work at an optimal level.

1. Routine

Try and find a routine that works for you, everyone is different and different things work for different people but by introducing stability and structure you will begin to remember to do the groceries every Sunday to prepare for the week ahead or to drink that 2 litres of water you have been promising yourself you would start doing daily. After two weeks’ routine becomes habit and you will be on the right road to getting more done in your days and having less stress.

2. Sleep

You may be asking yourself with the amount of study, work and social activities how do you get a good 8 hours of sleep? You just have to make it a priority. Sleep is vital for tomorrow, it is proven that getting 7 – 8 hours of sleep a night will improve your memory, sharpen your attention span, lower stress and help to avoid the effects of anxiety and depression.

3. Eat and Live Well

Ensure you are filling your body with the nutrients it needs to work effectively, ask yourself if you could increase your greens intake? Drink more water? Ingest more iron? Taking the time to read up on what your body need to sustain those long study sessions and long days at class. Try and stay away from processed foods and instead prep meals that are healthy, filling and delicious so you aren’t binge eating in the fridge by 9pm.

4. Drink More Water

Our bodies are made up of 60% water and you have to replenish what you take out. If you are working/going to uni everyday, training at the gym and just essentially doing life, you are losing water. Drinking two litres a day (which is the recommended daily intake) might seem like a huge chore but you can treat yourself by adding some fun, healthy options to your water to give it taste. Why not ad some fresh lemon into your water bottle or swap from coffee to green tea during the day. These sneaky steps can help you to trick yourself into drinking more water and the benefits are astonishing. Think clearer skin, weight loss, shiny hair. Water needs to become your new best friend.

5. Find something you love and do it

We often forget about the mind when discussing how to improve health and wellbeing, it is super important for mental health that you find something outside of school and work that you love doing. Find time for your hobbies and have fun doing them, we all need the happy endorphins pumping and that comes from doing something that you love if not daily then weekly at the bare minimum.

Medicare

We are very lucky to live in a country with one of the best health care systems in the world and that all comes down to our Medicare scheme. To put it simply Medicare is the government initiative that gives Australian residents access to healthcare. From the age of 15 you are able to apply for your own Medicare card so you’ll no longer need mum and dad to take you to the doctors, you can simply click the link here and transfer the card into your own name.

Medicare gives you free or subsidised treatments by health care professionals such as specialists, optometrists, doctors and dentists. You can also get accommodation in public hospitals if you for some reason become unwell. For some services, you get instant rebates at the click of your fingers (how good’s technology) The government really hooks you up and hooks up Australia, we have Reciprocal Healthcare Agreements with 11 countries meaning Aussies can get essential medical treatment overseas too.

So when should you use your Medicare card?

When you’re visiting a Doctor who bulk bills

If you’re receiving treatment as a public patient in a public hospital

If you’re filing a script from the Doctor at a pharmacy

If you’re making a Medicare claim

The refunds you receive from Medicare are based on a schedule of fees set by the Australian government and Medicare will usually cover:

The full fees of your Doctor’s visit

75% of the cost of your public hospital stay

85% of the fee for out-of-hospital services

Health Insurance

So what is health insurance? In Australia, the public health system Medicare covers most Australian residents for health care. However, Medicare does not cover everything and you can choose to take out private health insurance to give yourself a wider range of health care options and more comprehensive cover.

If your parents have private health insurance, then you are covered under their policy until the age of 21. For those who aren’t on their parents cover, you can take a look over the policies offered and which cover is best for you here at iSelect.com.au

How it works

There are two types of private health cover, there is hospital cover and general treatments policies. The hospital policy will cover you when you go into hospital while the General policy will cover you for such things as physiotherapy, psychologists and dental. Most health funds offer combined policies that provide a packaged cover for both, you can also pick and mix separate hospital and general treatment policies depending on the types of cover you need/want most.

Be aware though that if you are purchasing cover for the first time or upgrading your plan there is a waiting period before you can claim the benefits. There also may be some out of pocket expenses associated with your treatments as not all policies give you 100% cover so make sure you research and understand what is covered and what isn’t so there are no sneaky surprises.

Gym and fitness

Planning a good fitness program is key in promoting and maintaining good health. Fitness programs are a great way to make sure that you are getting the most out of your workouts and that you are targeting all your muscle groups as well as getting a good cardio workout.

Be consistent and make sure you include exercise into your daily routine, if 20 minutes a day is all you can manage then that’s perfectly fine, but make sure it’s 20 minutes every day. From a rigorous exercise to plain old walking, getting that consistency apart of your week will make it a habit and before you know it, you won’t be able to go a day without your 20 precious minutes.

If you belong to a gym or health club, trainers are often available for exactly this reason. They are experts at coming up with fitness programs that suit your age, fitness level, and life style. Make an appointment with one and they will be able to help you not only come up with a great fitness program, but show you how to do the exercises properly and without harming yourself as well.

There are also Apps and other training plans that you can download to get the maximum training benefits on a minimum budget.

Working out in a group environment is also an awesome way to have fun, make friends and burn those unwanted calories. Get a group of friends together and play indoor netball, soccer OZ Tag or any other team sport that tickles your fancy.

Exercise is the best natural way to get your endorphins pumping, it is proven to reduce stress, improve self-esteem and improve your overall health and wellbeing. Read more here and discover more ways to become healthier and boost your wellbeing, making it a priority and routine to achieve maximum health both inside and out!

Relationships

The most important relationship you will ever have is with yourself

Relationships aren’t always easy, but they are worth it. It is important though that you take time out of your busy schedule to have time to yourself doing the things that make you feel good. “Me time” is essential to realign and reaerate, turn your phone off, read a book or watch your favourite TV show but do it alone and be comfortable with the fact that you are happy just to be in your own company. It shows maturity and emotional strength to be able to sit with your own self and be completely at peace.

As you get older you will start to realise how important relationships are, yes they take work, patience and time but surrounding yourself with loved ones, friends and an army of people beside you who believe in you is pinnacle for growth.

Relationships come in all different shapes and sizes, and you will have different levels of engagement and intimacy with the different types of people in your life. One thing remains the same though having meaningful relationships is one of the greatest gifts you can receive. Most of us have to work consciously to master the skills necessary to make them flourish but the benefits far out way the negatives.

Working relationships, relationships with your parents, your friends and your partner are super important to prioritise and maintain. Imagine you have a bucket and it’s full of water, let’s call it your emotional bucket and during the week people take out water from that bucket. They take it out by cutting you off in traffic, they take it out by scoring you lower on an exam that you thought you were going to get, they take it out without even realising just by day to day interactions with you. By the end of the week you are tired, grumpy and there is barely any water left in your bucket. This is where you need relationships, a home cooked meal by a friend or family member, puts some water back in, a phone call from Dad puts some water back in, a night out with your best friends puts some water back in, a work colleague praises a job you’ve done well, again the water goes back in to filling that emotional bucket back up. This is the power of relationships without them the highs aren’t as high and the lows can be dangerously low, you must lean on your support network and know that relationships, love and support are the best gifts in life you can receive.